Carnage Of The Fiery Sun
by Primero
Summary: Nathan Scott, an up and coming DEA agent, plays a huge role in busting North Carolina's biggest drug lord. After stupidly brushing off the warning he gets at the arrest, he goes home to continue on living his life with his fiancé, Haley. NH, more pairings


**AN; Ok, so this is my first attempt at a multi-chaptered fic. Right now my muse is being kind to me, but that can change at any time, so expect that.**

**I got this idea into my head after watching A Man Apart with Vin Diesel and couldn't get it out until I sat down and planned the first three chapters for this fic. Now, the knowledge I have of the DEA is limited at best (basically from what I've seen and heard in movies and TV show), so you if you know someone who works as a DEA agent, you might want to suspend your disbelief a bit. Don't say I didn't warn you.**

**A big thank you to Diane for beta-ing this chapter and she will hopefully continue to help me throughout this journey (drink!). Any mistakes are my own.**

**Chapter 1**

Nathan felt his pulse pounding throughout his body as he crouched behind the low brick walls surrounding the house they were aiming their rifles at. He could hear Skills muttering nonsense a few feet to his left. He always told Nathan that it was his way of concentrating on big and important missions like these; chanting quietly and psyching himself up for them. As far as Nathan was concerned, Skills should get that head of his checked out – but as long as he had his back, he couldn't care less how he got through it.

"Nate!" He heard Clay hiss behind his back and turned around to see him nod over at what they'd been waiting for. Squinting in the darkness, Nathan saw a faint outline of the big, burly Latino guy they had been shadowing for 42 hours now. He could feel his adrenaline spike as the guy twisted his head discretely and looked around before opening the door and walking into the well lit, noisy house. This was it; what he'd been working towards for fifteen months. What the DEA had been working on for a whole lot longer than that. Tonight they would finally take down North Carolina's biggest drug lord.

Leopold Truman had been his department's biggest priority the whole time Nathan had been there and many years before that. After serving a five year stint in jail for dealing major amounts of cocaine in his twenties, Leopold went underground and wasn't seen or heard from in the drug business for over ten years. When the DEA agents started picking up teenagers dealing new types of meth and coke, which hadn't been seen on the streets before, they instantly got suspicious about a new kingpin trying to take over. That was twenty years ago and all the hard work Leopold had put into building his own drug empire while hiding out was certainly paying off for him now. Nathan almost felt impressed by how one man could gather the resources, manpower and contacts you'd need for this big of an operation. Yeah, maybe he would be; if it wasn't for the fact that the drugs the bastard shipped out by the ton – monthly – killed teenagers on their streets every week. Fucking piece of shit. So, he sat in there; probably stuffing hundred dollar bills down strippers thongs – it would hardly leave a dent in his wallet – while kids were running around at night dealing his shit; shooting at each other and snorting the drug like it was candy. And he was the one that got rich off it. That would stop tonight. They had finally found one of his bodyguards; one Julio Endear – he got sloppy at a gas station and used one of his own credit cards – and Nathan, Lucas, Clay, Skills and Jake had been following him since; hoping he would lead them to Leopold and his men. It had finally paid off and now their whole department sat crouched and waiting with baited breaths for the perfect opportunity. Julio stepping inside – right on schedule; switching shifts with the other bodyguard - was their cue.

Nathan closed his eyes, took one deep breath – thought about long, soft auburn hair and pink smiling lips – before he heard one single shout of "Go!" from one of the senior agents and took off across the lawn; his rifle held steadily in front of his body. Jake was in front of him when he finally made it to the door and nodded once before drawing his leg back and kicking it in. Nathan followed him into the house at a rapid pace; he barely heard the pounding music from the speakers over his own heartbeat slamming in his ears as he burst into the living room.

"GET DOWN! GET DOWN ON THE GROUND! NOW! DROP THE GUN AND GET DOWN ON THE GROUND NOW!" The shouts were coming from every single agent in the house, but they almost got drowned out by the yells of surprise from the various men strewn around the house and the half naked girls shrieking and trying to cover themselves up as furniture flew across the rooms and guns were cocked.

Nathan breathed hard through the bandana covering half his face and screamed out orders while pointing his rifle at every person moving so much as a muscle. The men started to lower their guns one by one and laid down on the ground; realizing they were outnumbered. Looking around wildly, he tried to spot Leopold in the middle of the chaos, but the lights were dim and the music was still blaring; mixing in with the shouts of everyone in the house. Shouts in Spanish and English mingling together until it was just a dull roar in his ears and it was then he saw out of the corner of his eye Leopold and one of his men heading out onto the terrace. Not even stopping for a second to think or let anyone know where he was headed, he took off after them; jumping over the railing without using his hands and still clutching his rifle. As he landed on the ground a few feet below, he busted his knee against a stray, big ass rock and clenched his teeth; pushing through the pain and not slowing down for one second.

"DEA; STOP! DROP DOWN ON THE GROUND OR I'LL SHOOT YOU DOWN!" Neither of the men paid his shouted commands any attention as they neared one of their trucks. Fucking hell; the guy was a fast runner for being fifty plus, Nathan thought bemusedly before lifting up his rifle and taking aim while still running full force. One shot to the leg and down the old man went. His henchman stopped to turn around and fired several bullets in his direction before Nathan finally hit him square in the forehead. Killing people was always one of the few things about the job that he hated; but when one was being shot at it was sometimes necessary.

Breathing rapidly from his adrenaline kick, the running and probably the pain of his injury too, he walked over quickly to the man groaning on the ground; not lowering the rifle for a second. "Well well, Truman. I'm glad we're finally able to meet. I've been a fan of your work for a long time." He said sarcastically before putting his boot clad foot on the older man's chest; keeping him from getting up until the backup he could hear getting closer arrived.

As Nathan later led a majorly limping Leopold to the car that would take him to the hospital – seeing as Nathan had only grazed the thigh and they had stopped most of the blood flow, they deemed an ambulance unnecessary – he could hear the other man chuckle quietly; it was almost a bitter sound. Deciding to play along, Nathan pressed down on his head as he helped him into the car and then leaned against the door. "What's so funny, old man?"

"You're so young," Leopold shook his head amazed as he continued. "I'm impressed, quite frankly; I see that they've gotten their heads out of their asses and hired some real boys from the streets instead of the dumbass fairies who think all you need is a lifetime of education and a gun on your belt to take down some major players." He said knowingly and Nathan had to work hard to keep the smirk on his shocked face from how the older man hit the nail on the head. This job had certainly saved Nathan from a lot of things. And it had given him even more.

"Yeah well," he said dismissively; wanting nothing more than to wrap this up so he could finally go home to his own bed for the first time in two days. Though his eyes snapped back to Leopold at his next words.

"You think by bagging me, it'll be over? Boy, you haven't seen the half of it; it's about to get a lot worse."

---

"Little sis, you better have stocked up on more wine for when Nathan gets home, because I think Peyton just downed about a half a bottle herself." Quinn laughed as she came strolling into the kitchen, but she stopped dead when she saw Haley straighten up from leaning against the sink and wiping at her eyes quickly.

"Well, you know Peyton's a bit of a lush," Haley hiccupped; her eyes still shiny as she tried to smile at her older sister.

Quinn hurried over to her with open arms; knowing Haley was a nervous wreck tonight. They all were; hence their little girls night. "Oh Haley-bob," she cooed, hugging her sister tight and smoothing down her wild curls. "The boys are rock stars; they'll take down that sleazy fuck and come home to us before you know it."

"I know, I know," Haley whined; still wiping at her watering eyes. "I feel like such a baby crying about this. Clay and Jake are out there too, but at least you and Peyton are handling it like adults." She gave Quinn one last squeeze and moved out of her arms to prepare the snacks that had been her reason for even coming out to the kitchen in the first place.

"Didn't I just tell you that Peyton is drinking herself unconscious out there?" Quinn chuckled. Moving over to the refrigerator to help Haley with the dip, she snuck a glance at her again. "To be honest, I've never been this scared in my life and you know Clay and I have only been dating for five months. I can't even begin to imagine how you two feel."

"Yeah," Haley breathed before shaking her head and pasting a big smile on her face. Picking up the bowl in front of her, she turned to walk out into the living room again. "Ok, time to pick myself up. Nathan will finally be back in a few hours and I can start preparing the big dinner I have planned and then later I can model the new lingerie I bought earlier for him," she said with an eyebrow wiggle; giggling on her way out as she heard Quinn mock-gagging over the sink.

"Haley!" Peyton called, flinging her arms up in victory when she saw that the snacks were on the way. "Do you want me to pour you some of this delicious wine? Come on, you can't resist drinking the whole night," she tempted; waving the bottle invitingly.

Haley laughed and shook her head, "No thanks, P. I need to stay levelheaded until I hear from Nathan or I'll have one of those drunken breakdowns. You're welcome to drink my share, though." She smirked; dropping down on the comfortable chair Nathan had insisted on buying for the apartment and taking a sip from her ice water.

"I think I already did," Peyton mock whispered, giving Haley a little wink before continuing, "Who says you need to drink yourself stupid, though? One little glass to warm yourself up never hurt anyone."

Haley smiled secretively over her glass; her eyes shining. "No, it's totally fine. Trust me."

Muttering what sounded like 'Suit yourself!' Peyton poured herself one more glass as Quinn came back from the kitchen and plopped down next to her with the dip.

As Haley watched her sister and best friend playfully wrestle over the bowl, she thought back on the life changing event that occurred to her that morning.

_Pacing back and forth before the bathroom door, Haley tried to talk herself into going in there and just __getting__ it over with. The stress over Nathan finally getting a lead on Leopold Truman, and risking his life every minute while staking out his men, was surely the reason why she had felt tired and ill these __past__ two mornings. It could also explain why she was late. If she just got up the courage to go through with the pregnancy test that was waiting for her in the medicine cabinet, she could finally calm down over at least one thing. Shaking out her arms and blowing a hard breath, she yanked open the door and marched right up to the sink._

_A few minutes later she was in the exact same position; now trying to talk herself into going inside and look at the result. She wasn't so sure that her excuses from earlier __were__ going to work this time. The only reason she was taking this test was because she genuinely felt like something was up with her body; something beyond the stress. And now she was looking at the possibility of becoming a mother at twenty five; barely out of law school and finally working, with a fiancé who had one of the most dangerous jobs you could imagine. But despite that, she couldn't help but smile softly at the thought of a life growing inside her. Something her and Nathan created out of the amazing love they had built over the two years they'd been together. She had always been drawn to kids; even when she was a teenager she had often babysat for the neighbors and her __parents'__ friends. Becoming a mother herself didn't scare her right now and she knew she would work until she couldn't anymore during her pregnancy and then pick it up again as soon as she felt it was time. That and the thought of raising their child with Nathan left her breathless with overwhelming love. Watching him walk around the apartment with a toddler on his shoulder would surely leave her weak in the knees every single time._

_With that last thought, she found herself smiling so hard her face hurt as she turned the handle to walk into the bathroom and check if her future would change this morning._

She snapped back to reality when she found the other two women staring at her from across the living room table. "What?" She asked quickly, trying to gather her wits.

"I just asked you three times if you wanted to go with me to check on Brooke and the boys tomorrow morning," Peyton said amused; rolling her eyes at how Haley spaced out for the hundredth time that night. There was no point in asking her what it was all about; she would just smile pleasantly and shrug her shoulders, claiming she was tired.

"Oh, I'd love to. But I really want to spend the whole day with Nathan tomorrow. Tell Brooke I'll visit her on Wednesday though, ok?" Brooke had given birth to twin boys a few weeks earlier and the friends made a point to go visit her a few times a week since she still felt overwhelmed to take both babies with her to most places.

"Of course," Peyton smiled. She was looking forward to spending the whole night with Jake as well when the boys got home, but unlike Nathan and Haley – who were attached at the hip and not getting tired of each other anytime soon – she knew her and Jake would be bickering like he was never gone come tomorrow. They were both too sarcastic and dry to not get into it whenever they were together. She wouldn't change it for anything, though.

"I'll go with you, Peyt." Quinn mumbled around the chips she had stuffed in her mouth. "Clay is visiting his mother tomorrow and God knows that woman hates me, so it'll be a good excuse not to come with."

"Lauren does not hate you, Quinn. She's just devastated you stole her precious boy away from her." Haley giggled as Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Is it my fault that Clay was a total man-whore and she didn't need to worry about someone snagging him for good until I came along? I mean, it was inevitable once he laid eyes on me, but still." She boasted; straightening up and fluffing her hair.

"Oh please." It was Haley's turn to roll her eyes as Peyton snorted next to Quinn. "Anyway, I'm sure Lindsey wants to tag along too if you call her, since I'm the only one not getting tired of my man after a few hours." Stretching her legs out, she debated if she wanted to tell the girls the news, even though she had promised herself that Nathan would hear about it first. She was bursting at the seams to tell _someone._

But right then her cell phone went off, closely followed by both Peyton and Quinn's and the three girls froze, staring at each other, before diving at them simultaneously.

---

"Did you get a hold of Lindsey?" Nathan asked his brother as the doctor in front of him poked and probed at the shallow wound on his knee; already determining that nothing was broken at least.

"Yeah, she was having dinner with her parents, so all of them had been waiting tensely and staring at her phone for the last half an hour." The blond man laughed, shaking his head. "Did you talk to Haley?"

"Yep, she's on her way," Nathan grimaced, knowing the boys would give him hell for it. But he also knew the minute he said the word 'hospital' to her over the phone, she'd already be in her car on her way over.

"Oh man," Lucas chuckled. "I'm so not surprised. Did she bring you a band aid for the wittle wound, too?" He pouted, batting his eyelashes mockingly. Nathan could see the doctor's lips twitching below him and he rolled his eyes in disgust,

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. We'll see how tough you are once Lindsey chains you up at home and refuses to let you out once you get home." Nathan snarked right back, wincing as the man tending to his knee hit a particularly sore spot.

"Oh please. My lovely girlfriend will be pushing me out the door come tomorrow morning. I think she got a little too comfortable with having the house to herself when I was gone." Lucas laughed.

Clearing his throat, the doctor stepped up from where he'd been crouching and put on his reading glasses before checking his notes. "Well, you're very lucky, Nathan. All you need is a few stitches and some ice on that knee for the rest of the night. You're a bit swollen, but it could have been a lot worse. You have a few days off now, correct?" When Nathan nodded, he continued, "Good, try to stay off the knee as much as you can and you'll be as good as new in a few days. I'll send in a nurse to stitch you up and then you're free to go home."

Twenty minutes later, the nurse was just putting the finishing touches on the bandage around his knee when Haley came bursting through the door.

"Oh my God, baby!" She breathed, running up to where he sat on the side of the bed. She grabbed his face and started to pepper kisses wherever she could reach around the nurse, who spluttered and tried to move aside for the smaller woman. Finally Haley stopped long enough for her to step away and could fit herself between Nathan's legs. She stared at his dirty face still sandwiched between her hands and teared up again in seconds. Damn hormones.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Nathan said soothingly, putting his hands on her hips and pulling her more snuggly against him. "It's fine; I'm fine." Touching his forehead against hers, he leaned in to give her a slow, deep kiss. He felt her lips tremble under his and he pulled back to study her face. "Hey, are you ok?"

She nodded quickly and tried to get her emotions in check. "Yeah, yeah, I'm just so relieved that you're fine," she whispered; leaning in to press their mouths together again. The second Nathan's tongue touched her bottom lip, she opened up for him; moaning as he stroked it against hers and dug his fingers into the hair at the back of her neck. "Mmm, I love you." She sighed, smoothing her thumbs over his cheekbones for a second before angling her head and deepening the kiss.

"Oh, here we go." They broke the kiss at Jake's voice coming from the doorway. "How come these two don't know the concept of keeping the PDA to a minimum?" He sarcastically asked the blonde leaning against him under his arm.

"I don't know, babe." Peyton quipped back. "Haley probably gets it from her parents."

Haley rolled her eyes at the comment. So they had walked in on her parents going at it _twice _when they were kids… She didn't know why Peyton felt the need to bring up those scarred for life moments time and time again.

"Ha ha. You two should go on tour together," Haley groused, but didn't step back from her spot between Nathan's splayed legs. Suddenly something occurred to her that she had thought about in the car when she had driven frantically to the hospital with Quinn and Peyton hanging onto the doors for dear life in the backseat. The thought had her so worked up that she was surprised she didn't get pulled over. And now she had a score to settle. She detangled her arms from around Nathan's neck and put her hands on her hips; leveling a glare at Jake who automatically straightened up and widened his eyes at the look.

"Jake, can you ask the boys to step in here for a second?" She asked sweetly; too sweetly. Jake let out an audible gulp and did as she said. He had no idea what the sudden change in her behavior was about, but he had seen that look before – mostly aimed at Nathan – and he wasn't looking forward to finding out.

One after one, Lucas, Clay and Skills shuffled into the room; all of them freezing at being met with Haley's death glare.

"So," she began. "How did things go tonight? Smoothly? Good." The boys who had opened their mouths to answer her questions quickly snapped them shut again as she made it clear she wasn't really that interested but just wanted to get to her point. "You know, from what Nathan told me during our brief conversation on the phone, as he explained how he suffered this little injury here, he was chasing after some bad guys on his own when he hit his knee, correct?" The guys all looked at each other confused and nodded, neither of them having any idea where she was going with this – it wasn't like Nathan hitting his knee was any of their faults and the injury wasn't even that bad to begin with. Nathan on the other hand knew exactly where this was going and he groaned and buried his face in his hands. "SO. Is there a reason why neither of you – his BEST friends – felt the need to tag along on the little chase and make sure that everything went ok!?" Haley finished, raising her voice as much as she dared in the hospital room and crossing her arms over her chest.

The four men goggled at her, their mouths opening and closing like they were a shoal of fish – not even sure how they could begin to explain to Haley about how her fiancé was during a job – before an amused, deep voice spoke up from behind them.

"You should know by now that Nathan has a tendency to act first and speak later, Miss James." Brian Durham walked into the room as his boys shuffled aside for him to pass. "I'm actually here to talk to your man about that."

Haley colored brightly – embarrassed to be caught scolding the grown men like a mother would – and backed away from Nathan after giving him a quick kiss. "Of course, Mr. Durham. We'll give you two some privacy."

"What have I told you about that? It's Brian, or even Whitey. And don't you worry; I'll be quick and you can be on your way home."

"Ok, Whitey," she giggled. "And you call me Haley; none of that Miss James crap." The old man let out a chuckle and nodded in agreement as everyone but Nathan left the room quickly.

"Ok, Scott. You know I need to go over this crap with you again since you're supposed to actually care about your own safety, even at a time like earlier. What good are you to us with a bullet in your head?" Nathan sighed at the lecture he knew was coming. He knew he had acted irresponsibly and that he needed to stop acting on impulses only since there was always a greater risk of something happening to him when he went off alone like that. "But I wanted to start off by telling you that it was a hell of a good job you did back there and I know the whole department is proud of you," Whitey continued with a big, rueful smile.

---

Haley ran up to Nathan as soon as the door to the hospital room opened and he came limping out with Whitey at his side. She quickly slid under his arm – like her putting herself under her giant fiancé would actually make a difference for how he supported the knee – and leaned up to give him a kiss.

"You ready to go?" He asked her softly, looking down into her big brown eyes and smiling contently.

"Yeah," she whispered and after a few quick hugs and fist bumps with the others, they were on their way home to a big dinner and some exciting, life changing news.


End file.
